Arnold Moss (January 28, 1910 – December 15, 1989) was an American character actor.
Early years
Born in Flatbush, Moss was a third-generation Brooklyn native. He attended Brooklyn's Boys High School. His first involvement with acting came when he was in college, after which he joined the Eva Le Gallienne Apprentice Group.
[ ]
Career
Radio
Moss was an announcer at two Baltimore, Maryland, radio stations, moving to
WCAO in 1931 after having worked at
WTAM.
[ ] In 1932, he was the youngest announcer at
CBS.
[ ]
Moss narrated episodes of American Story in the summer of 1945.
Teaching
In the early 1930s, Moss taught speech at the
Brooklyn College.
[ ]
Film
Moss made two appearances in
Bob Hope films, as Hope's
Casablanca contact in the espionage spoof
My Favorite Spy and as a conniving
Venice doge in
Casanova's Big Night.
Moss appeared in the feature film
The 27th Day (1957) as The Alien. In
Kim (1950) he played Lurgan, the shopkeeper and secret spy trainer.
Stage
Moss's stage career began when he acted and directed for Le Gallienne's Civic Repertory Theatre, with his first production being
Peter Pan (1929).
He played
Prospero in
Margaret Webster's 1945 production of
Shakespeare's
The Tempest for a combined total of 124 performances, the longest run of the play in
Broadway theatre history. He appeared in the original Broadway production of the
Hal Prince/
Stephen Sondheim musical
Follies, playing impresario Dimitri Weismann.
Moss also was narrator for orchestras in Boston, Detroit, and Milwaukee.
Television
Moss appeared in dozens of television programs during the golden age of TV. On November 22, 1950, he starred in "Lord Mountdrago" on
Somerset Maugham TV Theatre.
He appeared on television in
(1966) as mysterious actor Anton Karidian, alter-ego of the tyrannical Gov. Kodos of Tarsus IV, in the episode "The Conscience of the King". He also played in
The Rifleman as the school teacher, Mr. Griswald, and as Chief Lonespear in
Bonanza episode "In Defense of Honor" in 1968. Other television appearances include
The Time Tunnel,
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.,
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and the anthology series
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,
General Electric Theater,
Alfred Hitchcock Presents,
Suspense,
Tales of Tomorrow,
Studio One, and
Kraft Television Theatre.
Personal life
Moss married Stella Reynolds, an actress who performed with him in the La Gallienne troupe.
Death
Moss died from
lung cancer at his home in New York City on December 15, 1989.
[ ] He was 79.
Partial filmography
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Temptation (1946) - Ahmed Effendi
-
The Loves of Carmen (1948) - Colonel
-
Reign of Terror (a.k.a. The Black Book) (1949) - Fouché
-
Border Incident (1949) - Zopilote
-
Kim (1950) - Lurgan Sahib
-
Quebec (1951) - Jean-Paul Racelle
-
Mask of the Avenger (1951) - Colardi
-
My Favorite Spy (1951) - Tasso
-
Viva Zapata! (1952) - Don Nacio
-
Salome (1953) - Micha
-
Casanova's Big Night (1954) - the Doge
-
Bengal Brigade (1954) - Rajah Karam
-
Jump Into Hell (1955) - General Christian De Castries
-
Hell's Island (1955) - Paul Armand
-
The 27th Day (1957) - the Alien
-
Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1958) (Season 4 Episode 1: "Poison") - Dr. Ganderbay
-
The Rifleman (1960, TV Series) - Stevan Griswald
-
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962) (Season 1 Episode 5: "Captive Audience") - Victor Hartman
-
Route 66 (1963, TV Series) - The King in S4:E23, "I'm Here to Kill a King"
-
The Fool Killer (1965) as Reverend Spotts
-
(1966, TV Series) - Anton Karidian in S1:E13, "The Conscience of the King"
-
Gambit (1966) - Abdul
-
The Time Tunnel (1967, TV Series) - Kalech, High Priest of Jericho ( Walls of Jericho)
-
The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967) - Mr Shanari
-
The Monkees (1967) – Vidaru in S2:E3, "Everywhere a Sheik, Sheik"
-
Bonanza (1968, TV Series) - Chief Lonespear ( In Defense of Honor)
-
Serpico (1976, TV Series) - Tiller
External links
